Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan weighed in on the rate hike storyline Thursday, endorsing the “three rate rises” view. He also qualified it, saying that if the economy outperforms, more than three is possible; and if it is weaker, less than three is possible. Thanks Bob.

Most economists believe that a growing economy requires a growing money stock, on grounds that growth gives rise to a greater demand for money, which must be accommodated.

Failing to do so, it is maintained, will lead to a decline in the prices of goods and services, which in turn will destabilize the economy and lead to an economic recession or, even worse, depression.

Since growth in money supply is of such importance, it is not surprising that economists are continuously searching for the right, or the optimum, growth rate of the money supply.

Socialism leads to the politicization of society. Hardly anything can be worse for the production of wealth.

[Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, and Sustainable. By Jeffrey D. Sachs. Columbia University Press, 2017. Xx + 130 pages.]

Time and time again, these pages have listed numerous benefits of automation and robotics. The discussions point out that mechanization doesn’t make us poor, that attempting to tax machines is counter-productive.

Regarding the Fed’s balance sheet shrinkage narrative, one of the concerns is an unfavorable market response. The bond market (to the extent an actual market even exists) in 2013 panicked when the Fed began to taper it’s asset purchases. While many are concerned the markets could panic, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer on Monday denied this as a true concern. After all, they’ve been talking about this for some time — even in the FOMC minutes — and the bond market has hardly shrugged.

Today is Tax Day in America. When April 15th happens to fall on a weekend, the IRS generously permits us to extend the filing ritual until the following Monday. But since Monday was a holiday in the District of Columbia known (without irony) as Emancipation Day, we all enjoyed an extra bonus day to comply.

Bill Greene is assistant professor of political science at South Texas College in Weslaco, Texas. Dr. Greene made headlines in 2016 when, as a member of the Electoral College from Texas, he cast his vote for Ron Paul. He recently spoke with us about his vote and his work with Ron Paul and the Mises Institute. 

THE AUSTRIAN: Ron Paul has noted that he first met you in 1988, so it seems you have a long-term interest in freedom and free markets.